The Inhuman Coalition: A Brief Overview of the Land of United Monsters:
Nirvana, The City Indivisible: The capital of the Inhuman coalition, Nirvana is a great, immense fortress city built against the side of the mountain from which it takes its name, one of the tallest peaks in the entire western continent, and said to be home to ancient ruins, though this has never been confirmed. A city divided into three concentric rings, defended on the back side by the massive mountain and the other, smaller peaks it calls home, the tall, sturdy yet narrow form of the council spire juts into the sky like a massive needle, Nirvana is the home for all the races that call the nation theirs, a council of ten representatives ruling their day-to-day activities, each selected to represent their species by democratic vote, and where the ruling body of the coalition calls home within the council spire. A city of mismatched, piecemeal architecture and countless races of all shapes, sizes, skin colors, and origins, Nirvana is a city unlike any other in all the world, a city where you are just as like to find dreamers, idealists, and tinkerers as you are citizens of all races, living together in something resembling coexistence. The normally impossible sight of a goblin, walking arm-in-arm down the street with a colossal drider only possible within the boundaries of the coalition, a place rich with the arts, expression, and personal freedoms. The citizens of Nirvana possess great, open hearts and kind souls, all of them in possession of a collective tragedy that unites them under the common cause of finding peace together. Acherin: The home city of the mermaids, one of the ten core races that form the backbone of the Inhuman Coalition, Acherin is a city beneath the waves, the shanty town at the waters edge merely a front for travelers to explore before heading down to the true city, far below the cerulean waters of the World’s End Ocean. The coral walls and seashell spires of Acherin constantly shine like rainbows beneath the sparkling sun during the day, and glowing with bright green luminescence at night, the algae and moss along the seabed lighting it up with a wonderful night scene as the first rays of silver moonlight crack beneath the waves high above. A city home to the Mermaids as well as Undine and all manner of Sea folk, Acherin is a rare treat for surface dwellers, a chance for them to step into the home of the lands beneath the waters. Currently, Acherin is ruled by the Mermaid Councilwoman Luka Brineskimmer, who represents her people on the ruling council of the coalition. Arachne’s Cradle: The home city of the feared Driders, another one of the core ten races of the Inhuman Coalition as well as a mysterious race which are said to have been the results of twisted experiments by the high humans long ago, Arachne’s Cradle is a city woven with gleaming silver thread as strong as steel within the treetops of the ample forest behind the Nirvana mountains. A sprawling complex of houses, buildings, hovels, and a large castle made of web, hardened into solid flooring and walls in some places and thin wiring in others, Arachne’s Cradle is a city seldom visited by outsiders and even other denizens of the coalition due to the fearsome reputation and appearance of the driders who call it home. Although perhaps quite hard for two-legged races to traverse, it is a city that the Driders greatly cherish, and go to great lengths to accommodate travelers in. It is not an unknown sight for travelers to be assigned a Drider guide during their stay there, who ensures the paths they take are weaved as sturdy as possible, to ensure they don’t fall from the city towards the forest floor far below. Besides the Driders and the travelers, the city is inhabited by insects and animals of all sizes and shapes, making it a veritable bastion of nature and life...even if that may be a bit off-putting to visitors. It is currently ruled by Herod Steelspinner, a titan of a drider who was said to have spun the castle he calls home all by his lonesome as well as the current representative of his people on the Coalition Council, the Coalition’s ruling body. Hacaestus: The village of the stoic Centaurs, another of the ten core races that makeup the Coalition, Hacaestus is a village that best represents the people who call it home: Calm, Quiet, and doing its very best to be as gentle as possible. A sprawling village-cum-city of fur tents, wood buildings, and the odd stone structure built by the traveling stonesmith, Hacaestus is both the home and staging ground of the nomadic Centaurs, their innate physical might lending itself well to forming the backbone of the Coalition army. Powerful, large, yet soft-spoken, the Centaurs enjoy travelers who visit their village more than any other race can, smiling brightly and speaking with pure, honest hearts when they open their mouths, be it to sell an item or talk down a fight. Honest, pure giants at heart, the Centaurs are firmly honorable warriors rooted in tradition, beings of righteous might and combat, and their city similarly reflects their simplistic lifestyle. Most of the elaborate furnishings there remain for travelers alone, the Centaurs and other races who live there such as the odd giant, hobgoblin, kobold, and sometimes a treant or Ghoran all keep the atmosphere happy and jovial, a fact which lends itself well to the town’s main nature as a trade town. Sprawling tent markets up at all hours of the day, there’s rarely a time where some merchant isn’t plying their trade...currently, the city is lead by Jugem Oathsworn, a proud, if a bit old, centaur warrior who represents his people proudly on the council. Gorgaza: Home of the infamous Lamia race, one of the core ten races of the coalition, Gorgaze is a city where everything is enormous. The buildings, the beings that live there, even the food and the attitudes of the inhabitants; all is larger than life, in every sense of the word...a fact which easily scares off the smaller races, and perhaps the more cowardly amongst the others. However, those who do brave the perils of the city find that the Lamias and other lizardfolk who live there are nice enough, if still a bit clingy to their roots as barbaric, maneating savages...a fact which does them no favors in attracting tourists. Before the city vanished recently, it was declining in popularity, despite the Lamia Councilwoman, Syrixa Calliphae’s best efforts to fix it. Currently, it lies abandoned, its residents and councilwoman gone to the winds... Shinkick: A city famous throughout the Lands of the west as home to the eccentric gnomish people, yet another member race of the core ten, Shinkick, as it is so aptly named, is a city built by a race forced to take shelter in the coalition long ago against their nomadic nature by the humans who hunted them out of fear and superstition, out of fear of the dreaded fey to which they trace their roots. The so called ‘City of Clockwork’, shinkick is a loosely mobile city which crawls along the plains, churning out large puffs of steam as it goes, the massive clockwork spires of the city always in motion, much like its diminutive residents. Always changing, moving, and adapting, its halls always and constantly home to some strange new invention or idea, Shinkick is a city which welcomes all who wish to enter it, free of charge…! ….Provided they are capable of enduring the pranks, tricks, and sometimes unasked experimentation by the gnomes, halflings, dwarves, and other races who call it home. A city of tinkerers, inventors, thinkers, and scientists, Shinkick is at the cutting edge of non-magical development outside the dwarven peaks, and is currently ruled by the eccentric master craftsman Thimbletweed Tinkertop, the inventor of countless knick-knacks, inventions, and gadgets, and representative of his people on the council. Hearthmantle: The city perhaps most opposite the ever-changing, ever moving city of Shinkick, Hearthmantle is home to the adventurous halflings, another member race of the ten. A city built into rolling hills and green plains north of Arachne’s Cradle, Hearthmantle is a city of permanence, home, and family, built to reflect the adventurous and kind, yet family and home based society of its halfling inhabitants, its wooden complexes and houses never changing and kept as they are. The comfort of immutability giving the halflings a sense of home that welcomes them even after long journeys to quench their wanderlust and search for interesting adventure, Hearthmantle is greatly welcoming to those who wish to visit, its people warm, hearty, and always willing to lend a hand with anything that might need done. Overall, the town has a soft, warm, homey atmosphere to it that lends itself well to afternoon naps, a calm drowsiness always hanging over the people there...it is similarly ruled by a aged halfling adventurer, councilman Sumak Lightfoot. Gylb: A city most rarely visit, Gylb is the home of the goblins, a race which, surprisingly to some, counts itself among the ten core races of the coalition. Tucked away and hidden within the mountains near Nirvana so as to avoid prying eyes, Gylb is a simple city, owing to its inhabitants, and while its residents live in what most might consider a squalor, the goblins there frequently and without exaggeration refer to it as ‘Paradise’. To them, a city to call their own, freedom, a respect earned by a strange earnestness and dedication to proving themselves, and enough food, drink, and space to grow...it is more than a dream come true. And while most citizens of Nirvana have grown fond of the goblins of Gylb, they keep themselves hidden for fear of outsiders and travelers...so while little is known about it, it is known that it is ruled by the goblin king by the name of Thumakk Pointyblade, a supposed wise goblin ruler who represents himself and his people well on the council, and is well-versed in public speaking and rhetoric. Shizou-kami: Perhaps the most popular of all the cities in the coalition, Shizou-kami is home to the popular and famous Catpeople. A mostly human-like race said to have long ago fled from the east to these western lands, the catpeople are a whimsical one, following their desires in their tribal-like society, their skills at hunting and survival lending themselves well to keeping them alive. Living deep in the forest near Arachne’s Cradle, the catpeople welcome outsiders with a pure, innocent curiosity, eager and excited to meet and greet new people, to explore and poke them, and annoy them as well...and despite their whimsical nature that frequently causes some travelers no small amount of grief, they are also an incredibly flexible and adaptable folk, accepting of whatever lives their fellows decide to lead and always putting the betterment of the tribe before themselves. The merry, curious catfolk are quick to get along with any who return their kind-heartedness, bonding quickly and firmly with similarly kind, good-natured souls much like them. Their city is one built, carved, and scratched into the massive trees of the forest, their buildings a part of the forest themselves and forming a city in tune with nature. It is similarly known to be a safe haven for any elves or forest folk who seek a refuge from the modern world, as the catfolk there happily and curiously allow most into their homes. They are led by their tribal chieftain Dulinya Yellowfur, who serves as councilwoman for her people. Cirronimbus: The mysterious, mountaintop home of the Sanctor, another of the core ten races of the Coalition, Cirronimbus is a city that has barred its gates to all non-residents of the city, the paranoid, depressed atmosphere of the Sanctor who call it home leading them to lock entry to all who wish to enter, out of fear of attack...an attitude which is undoubtedly a remnant of the Sanctor species’s memories of the still-active witch hunts for them in Draconia, the humans treating them as abominations and hunting them for their pelts. Due to this, combined with the remote mountaintop location of the city, few have told tales of it..yet, the tales are nonetheless charming. A city in the clouds, of marble white and gorgeous buildings, a place of true peace and learning where all residents may live without fear of reprisal, of being hunted, or being watched...yet, aside from the harpies, stone-warped humans, and a few other mostly airborne races, none are granted citizenship into the city. It is ruled by its councilwoman Cyrine Goldfeather, who quietly serves her duties on the council when required. Festermire: Home of the infamous Dullahans, the tenth and final core race of the Coalition, Festermire is near the border with Draconia, a fact which only serves to irritate the Draconian church even further. A race which decided long ago to live outside the bounds of the reign of Barkhan for reasons unknown, the Dullahans were said to have originally been creations of the great lich himself, yet, these days they are content living out lives of peace and merriment from within their sprawling city, the walls covered in ice at all hours of the day despite the warm climate of the nation it calls home. Covered in a perpetual cold chill which chills to the bone, Festermire is home to mostly Dullahans, with the rest of the population made up of other sentient undead and humans, happy to live under the protection of the fearsome Dullahans in their tomb city, the streets covered with snow and the citizens determined to live their lives in merriment, desperate to enjoy every possible second of their lives..a fact which lends itself well to getting along with the jovial halfings and the nomadic gnomes. The people are emotional, spontaneous, and share a supreme love of the arts...additionally, they are led by the Dullahan and current general of the Coalition’s armies, Councilwoman Morteria.